One of Britain’s leading psychologists has warned that “all dials mark the wrong way” on the country’s mental health, as it raises concerns about post-traumatic stress disorder ( PTSD) among patients and NHS staff after the pandemic.
Dr Adrian James, president of the Royal College of Psychologists, called out an emergency plan to address a mental health issue, which he said could last for years after the immediate threat passed.
In an interview with the Spectator, he said all Covid hospital patients should be screened for PTSD and offered follow-up support because of their problem, while urging NHS staff to check in case they would suffer as a result of their work through the pandemic.
“People should be screened for weight loss disorder after they leave, and then follow through,” he said. “Most people with symptoms recover on their own, but it’s still a good idea to talk back to your GP to make sure things are getting better. A small but important group of people need psychotherapy to help them beyond that. And if they don’t get that, it can be very harmful. ”
He warned that between a third and a half of people cooled in hospital as a result of Covid were experiencing PTSD symptoms, along with 20% of staff working in intensive care.
Experts last year warned that around half a million more people would develop a mental health problem as a result of the pandemic. She said the pandemic was likely to increase the number of people in Britain with a mental health problem for two years.
James said the £ 500m government funding earmarked for mental health services needed to be allocated quickly and needed to be increased as the country sought to cope with rising issues. “If you look at the social signs of mental illness right now, all the dials are pointing the wrong way,” he said. “People have not been able to get the kind of support they have received before. We have not met socially. Children have not been to school. It is obvious that some people are in homes where they are struggling.
“If you look at the last pandemic – at the beginning of the last century – we know that the mental health effects go out over a year or two longer. In similar disasters, we know that the mental health effects tend to go away once the physical effects are under control. So it’s very worrying. Our services were already in a challenging position. We know that we were not able to prepare for everyone who needed mental health care before the epidemic. [The £500m funding] a good start. But this is just the beginning, because we know and I think everyone accepts that this is going to happen. ”
He also warned that keeping workers tired would be another challenge. A shortage of trained staff could be a major barrier to the speed at which patients can be seen. “In the same way that Covid ‘s physical influences have really moved government and health professionals, I think we now need to do some good hard planning around mental health,” he said.
James said there should be a national conversation about mental health that sees friends and family open up about how they feel the country comes out of restrictions. “I think it will be very difficult for people to get back to the new norm,” he said. “One of the things we’ve noticed is that mental health is being talked about more often than it used to be, and Covid has started a conversation around that. We’re talking to friends and family more openly, maybe in a way we haven’t before. ”
Nadine Dorries, the minister for mental health, said she was well aware of the complexity of this pandemic and that the government remained committed to supporting wellbeing and mental health.
“We have recognized this by keeping mental health services open throughout the pandemic and through the biggest increase in mental health funding in the history of the NHS,” she said. “This funding will give more people the support they need, including conditions such as PTSD. We continue to strengthen our workforce, with an additional 8,400 people employed by NHS mental health staff in the last year. ”